A Case Study of Pentecost University College, Ghana
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AN ASSESSMENT OF THE SERVICE QUALITY DELIVERY IN TERTIARY EDUCATION – A CASE STUDY OF PENTECOST UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, GHANA by ANNOR, KWASI ASANTE (PG 4090110) A Thesis submitted to the Institute Of Distance Learning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of COMMONWEALTH EXECUTIVE MASTERS OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION SEPTEMBER, 2012 DECLARATION I hereby declare that this submission is my own work towards the Commonwealth Executive Masters of Business Administration and that, to the best to my knowledge, it contains no material previously published by another person nor material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree of the University, except where due acknowledgement has been made in the text. Annor Kwasi Asante ………………. ………………. PG 4090110 Signature Date Certified by: Lydia Andoh-Quainoo …………………….. …………………… Supervisor Name Signature Date Certified by: Prof. I. K. Dontwi …………………….. ……………………… Dean, IDL Signature Date ii DEDICATION I dedicate this work to my lovely wife, Mrs. Patricia Ayerakwa Annor; my Parents; Mr. and Mrs. Asante Annor; my siblings Mrs. Helena Amoah and Mr. Opare Asante Annor for their love, support and encouragement. This work is also dedicated to my special friends, Kwadwo Abbrey Asamoah-Duodu, Eric Adobah Thompson and CEMBA Study Group Members; Augustina, Prince, Tony, Amos, Cynthia, Ike and Eric. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am grateful to God Almighty for seeing me through my two years of University Education. My appreciation goes to my supervisor, Mrs. Lydia Andoh-Quainoo, Lecturer and Head of Marketing Department, Pentecost University College (PUC, Accra). I am also grateful to Mr. Boniface Snell Nankpi, of Valley View University, Accra for his immense support and input. I am highly indebted to the students, staff and management of the Pentecost University College for their help and contribution towards the success of this work. Finally, I am grateful to Mr. Gibson Annor-Antwi (Registrar, PUC) for his motivation, guidance and inputs that helped me stay focused from the beginning of this work to the end. iv ABSTRACT Quality in tertiary education is one key issue which is gaining awareness in the increasing global knowledge society. In Ghana, the situation is not different. With the increasing number of tertiary education providers, attention is now being focused on the student- customer in order to provide quality services to achieve customer satisfaction and profitability at the same time. The study attempted to assess the service quality delivery in the Pentecost University College (PUC), Ghana, with the view of understanding how various factors or dimensions of service quality affected students’ satisfaction within a university setting. It also sought to assess Management and staff perception of service quality in the University. The methodology adopted the case study approach for the study. Data were collected using questionnaires from a sample of 230 respondents selected from the study population of 2733. SPSS was used in the analysis of primary data collected and the results were presented in the form of tables and figures. The findings were that both students and staff were satisfied with the service quality delivery in PUC. Both students and staff agreed that the current level of service quality in PUC was high. Additionally, it was found that quality dimensions such as empathy, assurance, tangibles, processes and procedures were important factors to students and staff. For instance, the study concluded that 66% of the students were not satisfied with how results are released in the University. Finally, it was found that course of study was the main factor which influenced local and international students to enroll at PUC. The study concluded that assessing service quality delivery enable tertiary education providers to prioritise factors which are considered important to students and staff for customer satisfaction, effective allocation of resources and for building and sustaining competitive advantage in a globally competitive higher education environment. v TABLE OF CONTENTS TITTLE PAGE i DECLARATION ii DEDICATION iii ACKNOWLEGEMENT iv ABSTRACT v TABLE OF CONTENTS vi LIST OF TABLES ix LIST OF FIGURES x LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xi CHAPTER ONE 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Background to the Study 1 1.2 Service Quality in Higher Education 3 1.3 Problem Statement 6 1.4 Research Objectives 7 1.5 Research Questions 8 1.6 Relevance of the Research 8 1.7 The Scope of the Study 10 1.8 Organization of the Report 10 CHAPTER TWO 12 LITERATURE REVIEW 12 2.1 Introduction 12 2.2 Definition of Service 12 vi 2.2 Definition of Service 13 2.2.1 Characteristics of a Service 14 2.3 Service Quality 16 2.4 Definition of Service Quality 17 2.5 Customer Satisfaction 17 2.6 Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction 18 2.7 Tertiary Education as a Service Industry 20 2.8 Service Quality Models (SERVQUAL & SERVPERF) 22 2.8.1 The Gap Model in Service Quality 23 2.8.2 Service Quality Determinants 24 2.9 Measuring Service Quality and Satisfaction 25 2.10 SERVQUAL Variables 27 2.11 Validity and Reliability of SERVQUAL 28 2.12 Utilizing SERVQUAL 29 2.13 Service Quality in Higher Education 29 2.14 Service Quality and the Role of University Management 32 2.15 Conclusion 34 CHAPTER THREE 35 METHODOLOGY 35 3.1 Introduction 35 3.2 Research Design 35 3.3 Population 36 3.4 Sampling and Sampling Techniques 36 3.4.1 Sampling Unit 36 3.4.2 Sampling Method 37 vii 3.4.3 Sample Size 38 3.5 Data Collection 38 3.5.1 Data Collection Procedure 39 3.6 Data Analysis 39 3.7 Limitations 40 3.8 Profile of Pentecost University College 40 3.8.1 Vision 40 3.8.2 Mission 40 CHAPTER FOUR 42 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS OF FINDINGS 42 4.1 Introduction 42 4.2 Frequency Distribution of Results (Students) 42 4.3 General Satisfaction of Quality in PUC 44 4.4Current Level of Service Quality & Service Quality Factors 46 4.5 The Relationship between Enrollment Factors & Country of Origin 57 4.6 Staff and Management’s Perception of Service Quality Delivery 60 CHAPTER FIVE 68 5.0 SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATION 68 5.1 Introduction 68 5.2 Summary of Findings 68 5.3 Conclusion 70 5.4 Recommendations 71 5.5 Suggestions for Future Research 72 REFERENCES 73 APPENDICES 80 viii LIST OF TABLES List of Tables Table Page Table 2.1 Definition of Service 14 Table 3.1 Sampling Size 38 Table 4.2.1 Demographic Characteristics of Students 42 Table 4.4.1 Students Perception of Responsiveness and Delivery 46 Table 4.4.2 Students Perception of Empathy 49 Table 4.4.3 Students Perception of Tangibles 51 Table 4.4.4 Assurance and Communication 52 Table 4.4.5 Students’ Perception of Processes and Procedures 53 Table 4.4.6 Students’ Perception of Reliability 55 Table 4.5.1: Source of Attraction & Country of Origin 57 Table 4.5.2: Chi-Square Tests 59 Table 4.6.1 Demographic Characteristics of Staff 60 Table 4.6.2: Staff and Management’s Perception of Service Quality 61 Table 4.6.3.1 Staff Perception of Empathy 62 Table 4.6.3.2 Staff Perception of Tangibles 63 Table 4.6.3.3 Staff Perception of Assurance and Communication 64 Table 4.6.3.4 Staff Perception of Processes and Procedures 65 Table 4.6.3.5 Staff Perception of Reliability 66 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page Figure 1: A figure showing Service Quality Gap Model……………………..24 Figure 2: General level of Satisfaction among Students...................................45 x List of Abbreviations Term Operational Definition Regular Students Regular students herein refer to students who have been admitted to undertake the course of study during the day that is from morning to late afternoon. University Used to refer to any institution of higher learning in this research. FBA Faculty of Business Administration FEHAC Faculty of Engineering, Health and Computing FTM Faculty of Theology and Mission SERVQUAL Service Quality Abbreviation developed by Parasuraman (1988) Higher Education Used synonymously with tertiary education to describe the provision of education at the university level. xi CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of Study Education is advancing due to a number of factors such as globalisation, technology and migration. Tertiary education has become one of the key issues to the economic, political and social development and competitiveness of the increasing global knowledge society. In Africa, expansion has become a constant feature of African higher education over the past thirty years. Africa, a continent of 54 countries, has around 800 million people. More than 300 public and 1,000 private institutions enroll five million students that employ about 200,000 faculties annually (Teferra, 2005). The demand for higher education greatly surpasses the supply. Due to this, the educational landscape has become more competitive as students have a choice and can now move to any part of the world for quality education. For example, the total number of students pursuing higher education tripled, climbing from 2.7 million in 1991 to 9.3 million in 2006, (World Bank, 2008). In the light of the increased number of students coupled with the competitive academic environment, it is important for tertiary institutions to consider factors that enable them to attract and retain students. Additionally, tertiary institutions which want to gain competitive edge in the future may need to begin searching for effective and creative ways to attract, retain and foster stronger relationships with students (Illias et. al, 2008). Consequently, the demands for quality global education has risen and quality assurance in tertiary education has received significant attention in this century both locally and internationally, public or private (Roberts, 2001).